Last Day of School!

We FINISHED!!!

This has been a challenging semester, but we conquered it and crushed this school year!

Alison finishing up 8th grade math...on her trusty homeschool dog :)

We joke that Maya HAS to be by math books.  As soon as they are open, she is there and trying to be in the middle of it.

Colin finishing up his work was the most bittersweet for me.  Last time teaching 3rd grade math...

But, as we were sitting out on the patio, with our lunch and working on coordinate planes, I thought about how much I still really love this.  I absolutely love how our days are together and I love teaching these kids.  And kids, when you are reading this years from now, I hope you have finally found your appreciation for how fun coordinate planes are...right now, you are not convinced.

Colin's last grammar lesson:

 

 

 Can you see the little feet hanging out of the hammock?  Another one of my favorite sights of homeschooling.  Colin is out there reading.

Another one of my favorite things...Eli finished school and had lots of time to build Legos.

All the books were done and papers written and it was time to party!  We started our celebrating off with going to see Peter Rabbit in the theater!

 

 Then we made sno cones.

 

We ate pizza and watched 'The Mysterious Benedict Society' that just came out on Disney+, which fit perfectly because we are halfway through the book.  

Then Ben handed out the certificates.

Alison graduated 8th grade!!!  High School here we come!

 

 

 Eli graduated 5th grade!  Middle school here he comes!

Colin graduated 3rd grade!

  I'm so proud of all of us!  It was another year of homeschooling that I thought many times, "It's a good thing we're already homeschooling!"  I love it, I'm thankful for it and I can't wait to see what high school holds!

 

Mt. Rainier

 While Beth and Katherine were here, Ben was hiking Mt. Rainier.  My brain is still trying to wrap itself around the fact that Ben actually did this!  He's pretty incredible.

Aunt Beth and Katherine visit

Sweet Katherine (I have been informed that I may no longer call her baby Kate) turned 13 in May and said she wanted to be with Alison for her birthday.  So on her birthday, Beth told her that she had planned a trip for them to come visit!  What a great way to celebrate 13!

They got in Friday morning and the first request was In-N-Out for lunch.

 

 

The girls hung out in Alison's room for quite awhile, just catching up and then couldn't resist joining the boys for a water fight.

 

 

 Beth and I went for a walk,

 

then we stopped by the store for slumber party junk food. The girls had spa night while the boys watched a movie.

mixing hair masks

Katherine is taller than Alison!  I was for sure the shortest girl in the house and that was a very strange feeling.

Saturday, we went to the beach.  Naturally, it was overcast...because that's what happens when you travel to see the ocean.  We still had a great time and the sun came out just as we were leaving.

 

 The girls went hunting for sea glass and found more than Alison ever has!

 Then they all built a fortress.

 

Colin showed Katherine the ropes of the water.

She was so brave and went boogie boarding without a wetsuit.  She said she wished they would have started boogie boarding sooner because she had so much fun.

Sunday, we got boba tea and ramen and stopped by Target for Colin to pick out his birthday present from Aunt Beth.  Our time together flew by in a wink and it was time to say good-bye.  Thankfully, we have plans to be together again in just a few months!

The beauty of every day life

Simple things aren't taken for granted anymore.

 

Our church has started back up Wednesdays at the beach.  Super exciting considering this beach was completely closed last summer.  I love it that our summer equals days on the beach with friends again!

Alison goes to both our church's and our sister church's youth group...that's how awesome she is.  PV has worship nights on the beach every other week.  Simply the best sound is the ocean and kids singing worship songs.

 

I've taken advantage of worship nights and have gone a hike and had my own little time on the beach.

Evenings around here are often filled with basketball or sitting on the back porch.

Colin's 9th Birthday!

Colin is 9!!!  

We started off his birthday with coffee cake and presents for his basketball themed birthday. 

Proof how much Eli has grown in the last month...Mother's Day I could rest my chin on the top of his head.
 

We spent the morning playing; Alison got Colin a punching bag :)

For lunch, we had a Chick-fil-A picnic.

Then we went to Dave and Buster's.  We have never been there, but Colin said he wanted to play ski ball and it turned out to be a really fun afternoon.

Eli tried the virtual reality Star Wars game...which he has asked every day to go back and play :)

Oh the memories of air hockey!  It was fun to watch the kids play.

We played a little Spot It before dinner.

He requested lamb kabobs with a tomato sauce, saffron rice and mashed potatoes.

Another year for an Oreo cake.

 

We ended our day of celebration with root beer floats.

 

9 sure is great and I can't wait to see what this year holds.

Happy Birthday, Colin!  We love you so much!